


The Tenderer of the Blueberries

by shinealightrose



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Elves, Fae & Fairies, Fantasy, Glittering Parties of the Seelie Court, M/M, This is very random but I rather like it anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 06:52:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18751240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinealightrose/pseuds/shinealightrose
Summary: Junmyeon meets a Fae Lord in the forest. Minseok escorts him on the journey to meet his love.





	The Tenderer of the Blueberries

**Author's Note:**

> I asked @ExoOTPprompts for a random Seho prompt, and this is what I got.
>
>> Pairing: Junmyeon / Sehun  
>  AU: Fantasy  
>  Conflict: Elven wardrobe  
>  Sentence: Oh, you beautiful weirdo! [pic.twitter.com/XPcd7eiwyE](https://t.co/XPcd7eiwyE)
>> 
>> — PromptBot (@ExoOTPprompts) [May 7, 2019](https://twitter.com/ExoOTPprompts/status/1125574795410726912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> Also an homage to my beloved Minseok, our narrator. Happy enlistment, Minseok. 

 

“Does this outfit make my cheeks look too red?”

Junmyeon twirls in front of the fairy glass, sheaths of lilac silks underlaid with magenta accents following in his wake. With that furrow in his eyebrows, the crease on his chin, eyes squinting in rapt, if inexpert, opinion of his attire for the evening, Minseok thinks he looks a little like a pinched dwarf. 

Minseok laughs. 

“Your cheeks are supposed to be red. You’re wearing makeup.”

“Yes, but don’t you think the colors clash?”

“Oh, you beautiful weirdo. They don’t clash. They complement each other well. Especially with the teal earrings. And the silver tiara. And the periwinkle slippers.”

Junmyeon pauses in the mirror and shoots Minseok a measured glance. 

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were making fun of me.”

“And I’d say you… need not care about my opinion. Not if it’s Sehun you are trying to impress. All the elves do say he’s… what's the word, eccentric in his dress?”

Junmyeon frowns. “So, you’re saying I need even weirder colors to attract his notice?”

Minseok snorts. “I think you’re good as you are.”

It’s the evening of the annual Spring Fairy Gala. Hosted this year on the banks of the river by the selkie, everyone in the realm is invited to attend, all clans of fae: elves, dwarves, pixies, and the like. 

Junmyeon almost never attends. He’s too busy usually in his occupation of tending to every wild blueberry plant in the Greater Forest, but that was before he met Sehun, a troubadour in the Court of the High Seelie. 

  
  


 

_ Their meeting for fortuitous, destined, nothing short of fate. An errant path in the forest, a lost carriage in the dusk. And one immensely tall, immensely handsome Lord of the Fae steps out onto a grassy gnoll with his pan flute intending to sing and play in the mists while attendants determine the way. And out of that steps Junmyeon, an elf of the lesser clans, tattered of cloth and covered in purplish stains, starstruck and irrevocably in love. _

_ “M-My Lord? Are you lost? May I be of help to you?”  _

  
  


 

Minseok and Junmyeon stride arm and arm together under fountain archways leading to the banks of the river. 

“Do you see him? Is he here?”

Minseok scoffs. “Have a little restraint, would you? He’ll be here. Fae of his kind are  _ always _ present at events like this.” 

Minseok himself is dressed in shades of green and yellow, hair a natural shade of brown. A lovely contrast to Junmyeon with his lavender hair and his  _ overly  _ reddened cheeks. They mingle for a short while, dine on sugary treats and flower wine. For as far as they can see down both sides of the river, the fae cavort under a sea of stars, pathways lined with pixie dust, tables and tiny chairs and fountains in abundance. Delicate flower wreath bridges span the river at every bend. Merfolk swim in between, frolicking in the reeds. 

Junmyeon bows at a dryad marching past, still with his half of his tree attached to his back, leaves shedding behind.

“You know him?” whispers Minseok.

“Yes,” he whispers back, a little spooked. “Name is Kyungsoo. Mean little thing if you provoke him, but he likes blueberries alright, so… I guess you can say we get along?”

They meander for a while longer, down the sparkling paths towards the main arena where the Court is said to be holding attendance. More and more important persons can be seen striding around or lounging on their settees. Minseok waves at a water nymph he’s known for years, hugs a delightful little leprechaun already too drunk the wine. 

“That’s Jongdae, do you know him?”

Junmyeon hums. “No?”

“Oh, well, do beware if you see him. He’s quite the prankster.”

Already Minseok has noticed a single ribbon missing from his shoe. He laughs and chalks it up as payment to the leprechaun, his arm back around Junmyeon’s back as he leads his friend and fellow elf to his destiny. 

  
  


 

_ Sehun bears down at Junmyeon, a crooked grin of amusement. “Well, hello my dear fellow. Whoever could you be?” _

_ “My Lord, my name is Junmyeon.” _

_ “Junmyeon. An unusual name I suppose. What clan of elf do you call your home then?” _

_ “My Lord, I am from the Eastern Banks.” _

_ “Interesting. And, what, elf, are you actually doing out here?”  _

_ “I tend to the blueberries, my Lord.” _

_ “My goodness,  _ all _ the blueberries?” _

_ “Yes, my Lord. “ _

  
  


 

The sounds of music waft in the breeze the closer they approach the Court. Lute and lyre, flute and harp, an angelic chorus of voices with trilled melodies in a key far too exalted for the average merrymaker.

“Ah yes,” says Minseok, “the Seelie Choir. I have always wanted to hear them.”

Junmyeon only quivers. “Do, do you think he’ll be in the choir?”

“A troubadour like him? An event like this? Most definitely. He’s known all throughout the realms, don’t you know.”

“I know,” Junmyeon grits his teeth. “Now, I do. I mean.” 

As they speak a team of ocean sprites race past giggling and shouting. 

“Watch out!” one of them calls!

Minseok jumps out of the way, well acquainted with this variety of fae. Junmyeon, unfortunately, does not. They leave in their wake the smell of the ocean, a clean feeling to the air, not a few clumps of seaweed on the path and also… the spray of ocean water. Junmyeon stands in the middle of the path with his arms outstretched, a shocked look of panic on his face as his gown, his painstakingly put together gown, lays drenched against his legs with murky, salty water. 

Several of the nearby fae titter impolitely and turn their faces away. Junmyeon stares down at the wreck of his outfit all aghast. Minseok chokes. 

“Oh, oh dear.”

Suddenly Junmyeon looks up. “‘Oh dear?’ That’s all you have to say? Minseok, look at this! What am I supposed to do now! It’s, it’s all over. I’m doomed. I’ll have to go home. I won’t get to see Sehun and and…”

To Minseok’s utter horror, he begins to cry. 

“Junmyeon, no! Wait! Look, I promise we can fix this.”

“Fix this?” he sobs. “How?”

In desperation, Minseok looks around. Several of the kelpie and one particularly callous spriggan look away. A troll on the opposite bank quirks one horrendously large eyebrow, but Minseok shakes his head. 

“No, no this won’t do.”

“It won’t?” Junmyeon wails.

It’s at that moment Minseok spots a friend. His eyes open wide, mouth falling into a wide grin. Coming down the path is an actual angel of a fairy. Sheer wings, white gown, a shining golden halo made of the dust of real fallen stars. 

“No, but  _ he _ can help. Lu Han!” he cries, waving his arms madly over his head.

The fairy sees him and shouts. “Minseok!”

“Who’s he?” says Junmyeon through his tears. 

“Just a friend,” he says, with enough emotion to belie the ‘just a friend’ motto. 

  
  
  


_ Junmyeon cowers before the beautiful creation before him. He bows his head and points with a trembling arm. “Through that way is the end of the forest. About a day’s travel on foot but, oh but of course you’re going on carriage.”  _

_ With their path now determined, the Lord should be alighting back into his carriage, ready to be gone. Junmyeon sweats, however, under the gaze of the fae.  _

_ “My Lord, is there anything else I can assist you with?” _

_ The scrutiny is beginning to wear on him. The fae only continues staring, a curious face, measuring.  _

_ “My name is Sehun. I am a troubadour in the Court of the High Seelie. Have you, Mister Junmyeon, ever attended the Spring Fairy Gala?” _

_ “My Lord, I do not usually go. I have been but once in my life and that was many years ago.” _

_ The fae hums. Then he snaps his fingers and one of his attendants flocks to his side, a sealed envelope in his hands covered in pink glitter.  _

_ “Take this, and this year be sure to come.” _

  
  


A crowd is forming at a barrier a good distance away from the elevated veranda of the High Court. High Elves with their golden faces and dressed in shining bronze armor stand with actual weapons at their backs as they siphon the crowd of fae through a single entry point. 

Junmyeon’s hands shake as he pulls the pink envelope from an invisible handbag Minseok lent to him for this express purpose. He opens it, produces a small invitation, and hands it tone of the elves. 

“ _ VIP Entry, special guest Junmyeon of the Eastern Banks, Tenderer of Blueberries, elf _ ,” the guard reads. “You are hereby granted entrance to the Court of the High Seelie. Violence issued upon any of the fae within the VIP grounds will result in your immediate, and permanent death. You may take one guest inside with you.”

Junmyeon, with his dress newly restored thanks to fairy magic, beckons to Minseok. The guard looks at each of them, memorizes their faces, and then nods. “Please go through.”

Minseok can only beam. Inside the VIP area are even larger mountains of sugary delights. The wine is sweeter, richer, headier. Attendant fae flock to their sides to secure for them a table and everything they might like to feast upon. The music here is louder, though still a short distance out of sight, probably around the nearest bend in the river. 

“Alright, old boy,” says Minseok. “Here we are.”

Junmyeon it sitting but he doesn’t sit comfortably. His leg bounces anxiously, he’s biting his lower lip. 

“Stop that,” says Minseok.

“I can’t help it!”

“You better help it if you want to make a good impression on your troubadour lover.”

Junmyeon hisses and looks around scared. “Don’t say that! I don’t even know him! And we’re not… I mean, nothing even happened.”

Minseok hums. “And it never will at this pace. Don’t you want to walk around? See the Court closer up?”

“Absolutely not,” says Junmyeon with sudden, suspicious determination. “We will stay right here.” Under his breath, he mutters, “I don’t even know why we are here.”

Minseok just whistles. He has a hunch or two but it’s not up to him to inform Junmyeon of the fact. In either case, Junmyeon is here as instructed, Minseok is his plus one, and the wine is excellent. 

Shortly after devouring his third plate of confectionaries, the musical piece around the bend comes to a stop, followed by a polite round of applause. When the choir does not immediately resume, he figures whatever is going to happen will happen soon. Junmyeon is growing increasingly fidgety. He looks about himself wildly any time a new face appears. Minseok knows very few of the fae dining nearby, some only by name. There is Yixing, another elf but of higher birth and in a different clan. Yifan, his brother, a moody elf with a high likelihood of skedaddling before the evening ends, not one to socialize for long. 

He points out these fae to Junmyeon out of disinterested conversation, hoping to pass the time. Still, it comes as a surprise for Junmyeon when members of the choir themselves begin to emerge. 

Minseok looks, but he doesn’t see Sehun yet. And neither does Junmyeon, not that Junmyeon is actively looking around himself now. Instead, he sits with his head focused extra intently on the waves lapping against the bank, his thumbnail between his teeth. 

“Psst,” Minseok tells him. 

The thumbnail is freed, but Junmyeon still doesn’t move. He sits still as a statue, and Minseok sighs. 

He turns his head right as a large group of fae appears around the bend in the path. Minseok grins. 

Hey, hey, Junmyeon. I do believe your time has come.”

“What?!” Junmyeon sits up and looks around, appropriately panicked. Minseok captures in his mind the exact moment Junmyeon sees Sehun again. The eyes wide and gaping, the jaw, falling. The breath, failing. He laughs inside and tries not to spook his friend. 

Sehun, troubadour, an actual Lord of the Fae by birthright of his fairy mother and elf father, isn’t just a normal fae. He’s the most beautiful of them all. Golden hair, golden skin, glimmering sheen. He strides through a crowd of sycophants with his fellow members of the choir, brushing aside their glances, their words of adoration. All who gaze upon are mesmerized. Even Minseok feels that edge of attraction. He stifles it down, tries his best to sit back and appear unfazed. All to enjoy the moment better when Sehun halts his walk in front of their table. 

Junmyeon seems tiny in comparison. He wilts before the Fae Lord, eyes not even reaching the hem of Sehun’s dazzling golden robe. His shoes are curled, his pants, tight. A belt of emeralds wraps around his waist. In his hand, the golden pan flute. 

“Junmyeon, tender of  _ all _ the blueberries _ ,  _ you actually came.” When he smiles, birds sing. 

Junmyeon practically withers. “My Lord, I did,” he says in his most deplorable self-deprecating tone.

Lord Sehun, however, just laughs. And to all his attendants’ great surprise, he pulls out a dainty little chair and sits down right next to Junmyeon. 

The elf’s eyes go wide. Minseok leans back to get out of the way, perfectly content to have been ignored. Junmyeon meanwhile may be having heart palpitations with the way the troubadour is now leaving toward him, elbows perched elegantly on the edge of the table, eyes staring in rapt attention. 

“I’m so glad you came.” He flicks his wrist absentmindedly and half the crowd following him disperses immediately. 

“You… are?” Junmyeon’s cheeks are now beet red. But what he hasn’t actually noticed is that his gown is, thanks to fairy magic, bedecked in even brighter hues, sparkling where it was just shimmering, shining where it was once dull. His silver tiara sparkles like the moon, his periwinkle shoes are practically radiant. And his face, it glistens. 

Sehun is lapping it up. “Of course I am. You see, I had tried some of those blueberries, in my travels before we met.” He looks around as if trying to attain a measure of private intimacy. He whispers, “They were rapturous!” 

Junmyeon chokes. Sehun beams at him delightedly. 

“I’m, so glad you liked them, my Lord.”

Sehun scoffs. “My Lord this, my Lord that. Please, let’s just drop that between us. I am Sehun of the Fae, just a mere musician.”

He’s anything but, but neither Junmyeon, Minseok, nor any of the attendants standing by dare to correct him. Minseok chortles to himself and begins to look around for a distraction. If only he knew where that one fairy went…

Junmyeon is finally warming up it seems. “A very good musician though, my- Sehun.”

Sehun grins. “Oh, do you think so? Shall I play for you later?”

“Later?” 

“Well, of course.” He fakes a wounded face. “Unless you had other matters to attend to tonight.”

Junmyeon sputters, “I don’t! No, nothing!”

And Sehun eases back into his charming mode. “Nothing but me?”

Junmyeon blushes, but there’s an incredulous smile on his face now that Minseok has rarely seen ever before. He thinks things tonight will go on rather fine. Sehun is even now reaching across the table and fingering Junmyeon’s prostrate arm. And everyone knows the Fae Lord is an abominable flirt, but he’s usually not so public about it. Not unless he means business and romance and all those beautiful, wonderful things. 

“Would you pardon me,” says Minseok, finally making his move. 

Sehun barely looks at him, but Junmyeon nods once, halfway panicked. Minseok smiles back and it seems to calm him down. 

Sehun, Lord of the Fae, paying court to a low elf, a tender of blueberries? The rumors are already swirling. Minseok grins to himself, happy enough that his friend’s fortune is rising. As he strolls away, the last he hears is Sehun whispering softly, “I’d like to make love you to tonight…” 

Yes, this is why Junmyeon no longer needs him there. 

Minseok stops a selkie server and bids her a question. “Excuse me, but have you seen a dazzling beautiful fairy in all white with a halo of gold?” 

The selkie grins knowingly. “If you mean the Fae Prince, he said he would be waiting at the cherry orchard for when you were done delivering your friend.”

Minseok hums. “Perfect, thank you very much.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> And yes I know 'tenderer' isn't a word to be used like this, but this is fantasy so give me my moment
> 
>  
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ShineALightRose) ~ [CC](https://curiouscat.me/ShineALightRose)


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